Air New Zealand’s recently introduced direct flights from Sydney to Rarotonga are having a positive impact on tourism according to Liana Scott, Vice President of the Cook Islands Travel Industry Council and General Manager of the family-owned Muri Beach Club Hotel (MBCH).

For many decades, the true meaning of Hawai’ian, ‘Aloha’ has been lost to commercial usage and trite tourist parlance, being used to brand everything from t-shirts to canned fruit. But in recent years, the Polynesian people of Hawai’i have sought to restore the genuine essence of this ancient term to its proper status.

With the announcement last week from Chara Hospitality MD, Gregg Currie, that lease negotiations had collapsed with landlords, Gerringong Developments Pty Ltd, and that he was obliged to “move on to new opportunities”, HM understands the owners, currently trading as Gerringong by the Sea, are currently in discussions with Accor Hotels for a possible management and branding deal.